Madley Madness As Ref Ruins Rams Top Two Tilt!
Saturday, 1st Mar 2014 17:17 by Daniel J Sewart

The Rams welcomed back Ward and Bryson into the quad but McClaren chose to bring them back via the bench with Hendrick, Dawkins and Russell keeping the pair and Patrick Bamford on the sidelines.

The first half took 10 minutes for the teams to settle as both seemed to be waiting to see what the other would bring to the table.

Unfortunately when things did ignite, it was Burnley that continually pressed forward. At first The Rams looked solid but made the mistake of defending deeper and backing off The Clarets dangerous attacking player as they ran at them.

The Rams were making silly mistakes in possession, often trying to be fancy when a simple pass would do. Burnley get their feet in and win the ball so the tricky stuff was only making the likes of Dawkins and Russell look silly as time and time again they were dispossessed. Both were working hard but proving as effective a one legged man in a sprint.

Hendrick was nearly invisible at times in midfield while Hughes was trying hard but without some support around him at times looked like a Rabbit caught in the headlights. At the back Wisdom uncharacteristically looked under pressure while Craig Forsyth was making Lee Naylor’s day with some half baked clearances and poor decisions when trying to clear the ball from danger.

Burnley looked like scoring and in the 29th minute score they did as the ‘former player curse’ struck once again. Wisdom lost the ball on the right as he lost his footing, a mistake that was costly for his team as the once million pound Ram Dave Jones, looped a volley in from the edge of the box that found its way into the net with the assistance of as much luck as skill.

The goal awoke the Rams who realised that they were going to need to keep the ball and in turn find a way to attack if they were going to get back into the match.

Derby began opening up Burnley at times and looking more and more likely. Unfortunately just as they began to get a head of steam disaster struck and they were down to ten men.

Chris Martin had the ball in the box and as he moved to chase, his foot was caught by a Burnley defender and his forward momentum saw him hit the ground just as Hendrick latched onto the ball and scored with a cracking strike.

A penalty?

Advantage played and goal given?

No. Neither of the two — some how there was another option I missed.

Mr. Madley instead decided to live up to his surname (truly, deeply he did!) when he indicated that Martin had dived, showing him a second yellow (the first was given for dissent earlier in the match) and sending him off.

The speed and aggressive nature in which the card was issued was near insanity as you can only think the referee saw what he wanted to see, not what actually happened. Benefit of the doubt went out the window as even though we see this type of thing waved away week in, week out, this time the ref decided to make the headlines by making a stand against diving, unfortunately for him replays showed he was clearly wrong and instead the headlines will all centre on him being a twat.

The replays show contact, no matter how slight, fact it is it dragged his foot from under him and Martin had as much right to go to ground as the hundreds of players who do the same thing without punishment, week in, week out.

Disgraceful work from the ref.

At half time The Rams down to 10 men and up against it.

Conor Sammon came on for Russell at the start of the second 45 to give the Rams a new focal point and nearly scored courtesy of his shot being deflected off Shackell towards goal. The ball instead wriggled under the keeper only for The Clarets stopper to scramble to claim it just outside the goal line. It has happened before and it was happening again as the team with 10 men looked the better as The Rams attacked and shut down any space that Burnley tried to create.

Burnley were looking dangerous when they broke quickly but Derby’s defence continued to put their bodies on the line to save the day, Forsyth in particular was finally using his head, even if it was just to stop the ball as it cannoned into his bonce from close range.

Bamford was next on as he replaced the disappointing Dawkins and quickly charged in from the right only to see his shot fly over. Not long after another long range effort was on target but unfortunately straight at the keeper.

Despite the Rams brave efforts to find a way back, on 68 minutes the match was effectively over when Mahoney profited from Derby being unable to clear a ball in the box as he latched onto a rebounded shot to score from close range.

Sammon went close for a second time when his shot slid wide when all that was required was a tap in. Unfortunately no Rams player was running hard enough to provide said tap.

Bryson was introduced for Eustace as McClaren rolled the dice one final time. The Rams all action, always running midfielder immediately added more spark to the team but it was all to no avail as hopes of a comeback were fading fast.

The Rams fought out the remaining minutes bravely with a few more good efforts on goal, equally Burnley could have added more as they continued to threaten Grants goal.

As soon as Martin was sent off instead of us going level — we knew it was not going to be our day. The one thing we can take away is the way in which the team applied themselves in the second 45 when the sending off could have easily deflated them totally. The stats clearly show the Rams gave it their all considering how clearly they were outclassed for the first half hour.

Burnley were the better team in the first half and deserved their lead but after a brave, attacking second half, it would have been nice for a game between 2nd and 3rd on the table, to have been decided totally by football and not partly by a trigger happy referee.

Always disappointing to lose but even worse when the ref has a larger effect on the result, than the team you are playing.

RamZone reported Ryan Weston made the trip to Burnley and tomorrow will present his full match report tomorrow on RamZone - which I feel may not be written in the high spirits we have become accustomed to this season.